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percent cash reserves against its outstanding notes, an extremely
conservative measure, making this bank one of the soundest
financial institutions. Its other source of income came from its
real-estate business. Considerable profits were made through
the purchase and development of Shanghai land for commercial
and residential use. The National Commercial and Savings Bank
exercised its right to issue notes in 1924, and stopped issuing
them altogether after the national currency reform of 1935.
At one point, due to a shortage of bank notes in circulation,
the bank authorized its notes to be cut in half so they could
circulate at one-half their face value. Each half had to be signed
by a bank official to be accepted. Most whole notes in collections
today are, in reality, two halves joined together.
The British and Belgian Industrial Bank of China’s existence
was discovered only when several of its bank notes surfaced
unexpectedly. Kann reports that these notes, in the amount of
5 and 10 taels, were issued at Changsha, the capital of Hunan
province. It is not known if the bank ever opened its doors to
business. Since Hunan province was intensely anti-foreign and
noted for opposition to all things foreign, especially regarding
control of the local financial market, it is quite possible that the
bank was never permitted to operate there, despite the organization
having been set up and Changsha bank notes printed. The notes
may be seen by examining the SCWPM, Vol. 1.
National Commercial and Savings Bank 5-dollar note of 1924 depicting the
Great Wall of China on its obverse and two hemispheres on the reverse.
In this example the serial numbers do not match due to the bank having
earlier authorized its branches to cut their notes in half to fill a shortage of
smaller denominations.
The Bank of East Asia, Ltd. was founded at a time when British
banking institutions dominated colonial Hong Kong. After World War
I, the crown colony saw a rapid rise in the establishment of Chineseowned
banks, founded to serve the island’s Chinese population. These
were typically family owned. One of the first of these was the Bank
of East Asia. Four families, the Lis, Wongs, Kans and Fungs joined
together to found the bank in 1918. The headquarters was opened in
Hong Kong at number 2 Queen’s Road in 1919, with other branches
following in Shanghai, Saigon and Haiphong (French Indochina).
The bank prospered during the 1920s and ‘30s, becoming one of the
most prominent locally-owned banks. A new headquarters building
was constructed in Hong Kong in 1935, underscoring the bank’s
rise to prominence. This building may be seen on the reverse of the
bank’s notes. The 1924 issue depicts a Shanghai street scene on
the obverse and the new headquarters building on the reverse.
Bank of East Asia specimen 50 dollar note from its Shanghai branch. The
note shows a circa 1924 Shanghai street scene on its front.
There are possibly other banks of British origin which did
business in China and issued their own bank notes, but at this
point I am not aware of them. It is always possible notes issued
by one of these institutions will yet surface, adding another
dimension to numismatic history. The above discussion was based
upon all relative information available in the works of Kann and
Ji as well as SCWPM, Volume 1 and various articles which have
appeared on the internet.
Other Foreign Banks of the Republican Era
The newest Japanese entrant to China’s finances was the Exchange
Bank of China. It was established in 1918 with a capital of
10,000,000 Japanese yen. In sharp contrast to the previous
Japanese government’s “tough demands” attitude toward China,
the new cabinet installed in 1916 emphasized a spirit of economic
cooperation. To this end a special banking group was formed
consisting of the Exchange Bank of China, the Bank of Taiwan
and the Bank of Chosen. This was a subterfuge, of course, to
insure that China remained pro-Japan and to guarantee Japanese
economic interests in Manchuria. The Japanese then made
significant railway, mining and telegraph loans to China under
the guise of Sino-Japanese friendship.
38 IBNS Journal 48.2